


Of individuals and teams

by Treegona



Category: Eyeshield 21
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - College/University, F/M, Hiruma's demi, M/M, Mamori's dense, Multi, Musashi's bi, Pining, no beta we die like women
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-03
Updated: 2020-05-03
Packaged: 2021-01-21 05:55:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,039
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21294638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Treegona/pseuds/Treegona
Summary: What if Musashi never re-joined the devilbats for the Seibu game?Gen takes two extra years to finish highschool before his dad sends him to university to get a degree in architecture. Hiruma's more than happy to have a roommate and Gen just hopes he can meet someone nice in uni to move on from his hopeless crush on his quarderback-cum-roommate. Too bad the girl he picks is already Hiruma's partner.
Relationships: Anezaki Mamori/Hiruma Youichi, Anezaki Mamori/Hiruma Youichi/Takekura "Musashi" Gen, Anezaki Mamori/Takekura "Musashi" Gen, Hiruma Youichi/Takekura "Musashi" Gen
Comments: 17
Kudos: 13





	1. Altsmerz

**Author's Note:**

> This is a mess. I've written basically the plot, but little to no dialogue and very few actual events? But I know that if I don't post this now, I'll sit on it for years and eventually just give up. So. Here's the thing. Take it away from me.
> 
> Chapter titles taken from [here](https://i.redd.it/gaw1lexy2bw31.jpg)

Takekura Gen had a habit of making bad life choices. It starts when he drops out of high school to support his dad's construction company. Gen leaves behind his friends, his hopes of becoming an architect and the dream of the Christmas bowl.

Deimon is knocked out of the tournament in the first round that year and in the next year they lose to the Bando Spiders for the third place qualifier. By the time Gen's scraped together enough night classes to go to college, he's two years behind his age group.

The Saikyoudai Wizards offer him a place on their team, sight unseen. This makes no sense, right up until the moment Gen learns who the captain is. Hiruma probably didn't need two whole years to get the college AF team under his thumb, but that time couldn't have hurt his position any. Saikyoudai is a _good_ school though, even beyond it's impressive American football team. Gen spends more time than he can probably spare to prepare for the entrance exams. Even then, he makes the cut by the skin of his teeth and the support of his colleagues.

Takekura Gen's second big mistake is moving in with his longtime friend. The university is too far from home to commute, Gen has no patience for potential party-animal dorm-mates and the rent Hiruma asks for is very reasonable. So Gen moves in.

It's not even really anyone's fault. Hiruma had no idea of the long-burning torch Gen's held for him all throughout their friendship. Gen meanwhile had thought the four years of little contact would have doused the flame of his regard for his friend. He was wrong.

They settle into an easy cohabitation. Gen's always known Hiruma to be intense, but he hadn't realized quite how quiet his friend gets, in his downtime. Sometimes it takes an entire hour after Gen comes home to realize Hiruma's camped on the couch, watching football footage or writing a paper for class. It also doesn't take long for Gen to realize that, in the time they've been apart, Hiruma's found a partner.

Gen doesn't quite know who or what this person is to Hiruma, for a long time Gen was convinced his friend didn't go for people that way. But evidently, one of the managers has worked their way into Hiruma's trust. Hiruma doesn't talk about them much. But Gen sees the amount of notes from _the_ manager, notices how often Hiruma goes to meet _the_ manager, hears how Hiruma talks about _the_ manager. Given the fact that the Wizards have five managers -four of whom he's met, all of whom have derogatory nicknames- Gen can tell that this person is special, that _the Manager_ is probably capitalized in Hiruma's mind.

It hurts to know that there's someone so close to Hiruma, closer than it feels Gen's ever been. It hurts to know that there's someone important enough in Hiruma's life that he makes note of their birthday, and Gen wasn't there to see that relationship grow. But it doesn't hurt so much that Gen can't see that this is good. Maybe now he can move on with his life, move on from the contradictory, intriguing passion that is Hiruma Youichi. There's nothing to pine over if Hiruma is already spoken for. Maybe now Gen can finally find a nice girl and settle down.

This is his third mistake.

There's a girl his age in his _Intro to Perspective _class. She has the look of someone who'd hoped to forget mandatory art electives were a thing so hard the university gave up, but failed.

She sits at the front of their shared seminars and Gen's seen her take notes every class. He asks to borrow her notes, once, when he's had to miss class to take care of his dad back home. The notes she'd taken were extensive and easy to follow, so he offers to buy her a cup of coffee as thanks. She declines, but gives a counteroffer of them getting coffee together over lunch.

The more he talks to her, the more interested in her Gen becomes. Anezaki Mamori is a junior pedagogy major, who had indeed hoped to skate by her art electives unscathed. She's trying to become a kindergarten teacher and says she's had a lot of experience wrangling unruly children already. The ways she says it makes Gen feel like he's missing a joke, that there's more to _that_ story than she's telling.

In turn, he tells her about architecture, how he hopes to improve his father's company by having an in-house architect.

Gen finds that Anezaki is sweet, thoughtful. But she's also smart, well-versed in a wide variety of topics and unafraid to speak her mind. She's also very pretty, with soft auburn hair and green eyes. For the first time in a while, Gen thinks he could be happy with this person.

They spend the entire lunch in that cafe, talking about everything and nothing until Gen has to head home to fetch his drawing equipment for that day's practical. Anezaki says she has an errand to run in the same part of town, so they plan to walk together until their ways part.

Gen waits for the intersection to come where she makes her goodbyes and takes her leave, but she doesn't. It gets weird when she follows him not just to his neighborhood, not just to his street but into his building. Anezaki, too, looks very uncomfortable, like she doesn't want to look like she's following him. Still, she takes the stairs to Gen's floor. Her face goes even weirder when Gen unlocks his door. He sees her double check the number plate, but Gen doesn't actually have the time or the will to deal with his maybe-date having an errand to run with one of his neighbors.

At least, Gen doesn't think he does, right up until his maybe-date enters into his apartment.

"Youichi?" Gen hears Anezaki call.

Right up to the moment Gen's longtime crush and roommate yells back.

"Fucking Manager, finally. Took you long enough, get in here."

Because of course the girl in Gen's _Perspective _class is the Wizards' elusive fifth manager. Of course the girl Gen has his eye on is Hiruma's partner. Because Takekura Gen has a habit of making _terrible_ life choices.


	2. Nodus Tollens

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mamori considers her social life, boxes and useful people.

If asked, Anezaki Mamori would say that she has a good understanding of how her social life works. She has her college acquaintances, people she’s worked with on projects or studied with. People she greets when she passes them in the hall. Mamori has her old school friends, whom she still meets every month for tea. Finally, she has her football team. Players she sees almost daily. Mamori hasn’t spent as much time with the new freshmen as she would’ve liked. The team is still smarting from the loss of Unsui to the Enma fires last year and Mamori is helping the team adjust.

There are a few people who defy the neat little boxes Mamori sorts them into. Hiruma Youichi has a habit of doing that, inspired it in Sena too, back in her second year of high school. A delinquent, a teammate, a friend. Youichi has never _just_ been any one thing.

From the corner of her eye, Mamori sees Takekura emerge back into the living space, but her attention is on Youichi. On bickering, because if she’s ever not fully focused on their sparring she’ll lose and that is simply unacceptable.

So much for the friend she could have made in _Perspective_, Mamori thinks as Takekura leaves the apartment. Few people outside of the AF team are still willing to be her friend after they’ve seen her go at it with Youichi. They’ve all got better self-preservation instincts than her, that’s for sure.

At least, that’s what Mamori expected. But Takekura still talks to her after their next seminar, though he doesn’t invite her to coffee again. Mamori figures out why Youichi doesn’t faze her new friend much -or even at all- during the next practice when she _finally_ gets to work with the freshmen.

Takekura Gen is apparently a kicker. And a good one at that. He’s also friends with Youichi and around their age. Mamori adds up two and two and Kurita’s mentions of a kicker and concludes Deimon.

When she asks, Youichi confirms that Takekura is an old friend of his, Musashi. Mamori asks if there’s more to the story - Takekura _is_ two years older than his fellow freshmen - but Youichi laughs and asks why she’s so interested in him. In a way, that’s all she needs to hear. Something happened, but it’s a sore subject for everyone involved. When Mamori thinks about how a kicker more skilled than Youichi could have changed the outcome of the Bandou Spiders game she lets it go. They have history, that’s all that matters now.

Takekura proves himself to be remarkably Youichi-resistant. He offers to train the fresh meat in catching punts and onside kicks when Youichi threatens to shoot them for slacking. Later, when practice is going long and Mamori _knows_ Youichi will be at the office compiling data for another hour yet, she catches Takekura telling him not to get takeout, that he’ll make enough dinner for both of them. At one point, he kicks a grenade clean across the field, where it explodes safely away from innocent bystanders.

Mamori decides to recruit him for Youichi Wrangling.

“It’s not that I can’t handle it” she explains over coffee. “But it would be nice to have someone else watching out for him. I don’t have to worry so much over him hiding or downplaying injuries anymore. We’ve lost enough players to preventable injuries that he knows better. But. He doesn’t eat, or he does, but it’s junk food and supplements.” Mamori’s explanation is getting out of hand, but Takekura lives with Youichi. If there’s anyone who’ll understand, it’s him. “His sleep schedule deteriorates if he’s left to his own devices. He’ll get so lost in his work that he doesn’t realize time has passed until it’s the next morning. Not to mention, any space he spends time in inevitably becomes a pig-sty. And it’s like he’s never heard of politeness unless he’s plotting something. I don’t even want to think about how many bridges he’s burned over the years.

“But,” Mamori breathes in deep, pulls back from where she’s leaning over the table, sits up straight and squares her shoulders. “Most importantly, I could use someone who can tell me when I take it too far. I’ve a habit of mothering people I care about and forgetting that they’re competent adults who don’t actually need me to interfere.” she looks at Takekura. “I can’t allow myself to smother anyone like that again. Will you help me?” she finishes, acutely aware of how long she’s been monologuing.

“So basically, what you’re asking of me is to make sure Hiruma eats dinner, goes to bed before, what, midnight? And tell you when you’re micromanaging?” Takekura asks. Mamori nods. “Yea, I think I can do that.”

They hash out some details, exchange contact information and go their separate ways. As Mamori heads off to her next lecture, there’s a spring in her step that she can’t quite explain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Later than I'd wanted to upload this, but gradschool applications take priority.
> 
> I'm working on chapter 3, but that one's from Hiruma's POV and writing characters more devious than me has always been an Issue. I hope to have the third part up before Christmas tho ;)


	3. Jouska

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hiruma has some Thoughts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I live, so there's that. 
> 
> Hiruma's POV has been giving me some trouble. Also the _how do relationships work_ bit. But self-confinement due to an ongoing cough will make creatives out of all of us.
> 
> Blame [TaigaKunaix.](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TaigaKunaix)

In Hiruma Youichi’s experience, romance has always been either a tool to be exploited or a challenge to be overcome. He’s blackmailed cheaters and sold photos to rabid fans. But Hiruma’s also had to remind players of their priorities in the face of a cute girl’s smile and he’s had to deal with infighting whenever Dreads couldn’t keep it in his _fucking_ pants.

So when Musashi mentions a cute girl in his Perspective class, Hiruma fears for the worst. Maybe she’ll only be mildly distracting off the field. Hiruma could live with that, for his friend’s sake. Worse is if she starts demanding time allocated towards practice. Hiruma doesn’t want to resort to scaring off some random girl, just because Musashi likes her. But the team needs their kicker. The Enma Fires have had a leg up on them for too goddamn long. (Hiruma resolutely does not think about the possibility that she’s perfectly nice and sweeps Musashi off his feet, out of Hiruma’s life, with no justifiable reason to run her off. Hiruma’s good at not thinking about things. He’s had practice.)

It doesn’t even occur to Hiruma that one of the girls in Musashi’s Perspective class is the manager until she comes into the apartment, hot on his heels. For a moment, Hiruma thinks he’s mistaken. Maybe they recognised each other from practice? But Musashi is looking too surprised to have known Mamori was a manager.

Hiruma puts the previous feeling of impending doom out of mind. Both Musashi and the Manager are far too serious to let something like romance interfere with their education and practice.

But the Manager starts coming over for dinner. Musashi cooks more, even when she doesn’t visit. Maybe it’s practice? Not that he needs it, in Hiruma’s opinion. Musashi’s been making enough to let Hiruma eat along and it always tastes fine to him. Musashi also continues to go on lunch not-dates with Mamori. Or at least, Musashi denies that they’re dates, when asked. Hiruma hasn’t bothered asking the Manager. He can see the way they look at each other.

_Musashi and the Manager_ being a potential thing slots into Hiruma’s worldview. It’s less threatening than he’d first thought. They work well together. Both have a caring nature, though they express it differently. They’d be good parents together, Hiruma decides. He can kind of see what they see in each other.

Musashi and Mamori being involved would have consequences for Hiruma. He would have to stop relying on the Manager as much, outside of practice time. While he could rely on her duty to the AF team taking priority over other trivial social contacts, a romantic entanglement changes things. Musashi’s only a freshman, his academic load is lighter so Hiruma doesn’t think Musashi would have to choose between academics, football and his relationship. But longer term, Musashi might decide to cohabitate with his partner. This is when Hiruma realizes he’s come to enjoy Musashi’s quiet company in their space, their home. He would be… lonely. If Musashi left.

None of these evaluations are specific to the Musashi/Mamori pair, though, and could happen even if Hiruma blocks this match. Besides which, there’s benefits to them being with one another, rather than some stranger. The Manager will never complain about Musashi not being available during practice time –she’d be just as busy. And Musashi will never question Mamori’s devotion to the team of a sport she doesn’t even play. Further, Hiruma’s had dinner with the both of them a few times by now, and he’s never felt excluded from the conversation. Sure, Mamori and Musashi talk about their shared class and mutual acquaintances, for which Hiruma usually doesn’t spare the energy. But he talks with Mamori about tactics, sports medicine and international politics, which are too far from Musashi’s sphere of influence to hold his attention. And with Musashi he can talk about narrative themes of terrible blockbuster movies, which Mamori doesn’t enjoy (though she has surprisingly in-depth knowledge of old-school slasher flicks) and local economics.

They have their lunch not-dates, which Hiruma carefully avoids, even if he has free time during lunch and is in the area. But other than that, he is included. And Hiruma feels that maybe, if they were to get together, there might still be space for him.

So Hiruma watches. He waits, doesn’t intervene, he lets Musashi and the manager come together on their own terms, in their own time. Hiruma waits for the shift; from flirty to flirting, from friends to lovers, from potential to _kinetic. _It doesn’t come. It’s not until he overhears the Manager reject a suitor with _I’m not interested_ rather than_ I’m not available_ that he starts to doubt himself.

Hiruma has to hit an internal reset before he can begin to understand. He has to look at his friends with fresh eyes. Over the next few days he watches them interact. He sees the way Musashi watches her, clearly in awe of her passion and her capabilities. He sees her look back, relax. He sees her not only trust but entrust. Anezaki Mamori doesn’t so much have issues with trust as she does with protective control. But Musashi seems to temper that in her, somewhat. Or he offers an outside perspective? Hiruma can’t quite figure out the particulars there. He can see that they’re good for each other.

He can also see that they haven’t progressed since the second week of their acquaintance, some two months ago. Hiruma reconsiders what he knows about his friends and almost smacks himself. Musashi is a martyr with frankly terrible self-esteem and the Manager is the singularly densest smart person Hiruma has ever had the pleasure of exploiting. Of course they haven’t realized they’re mutually interested.

This is when Hiruma Youichi decides to do what he does best: meddle in others’ affairs. Frankly, it’s amazing that they get anything done without him.


	4. Mauerbauertraurigkeit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's gonna be two or three more chapters after this. Probably three? Chapter five just needs some more proof-reading, the last chapter's been set in clay for a while now, but the chapter in between chapter... That one's gonna be some more work. At least I've gotten around the problems Hiruma's perspective gives me :)

Never let it be said that Hiruma Youichi is an indecisive bastard. After deciding that action has to be taken, Hiruma loses no time in putting his plan into action.

Hiruma makes his first move later that week. He’s sitting on the couch with Musashi, finishing up a lab report. Hiruma’s learned over the years that working with slackers might give him more freedom to control a project, but the increased workload is unsustainable. Working with competent lab partners means he doesn’t have to decrypt and infer from shoddy lab notes, but does mean he’s accountable to have the report in by Thursday for review, rather than by Monday for submission. Paranoid bastards.

Hiruma hits _send_ with a little more force than is probably needed. He leans back, stretches and groans. He’s louder than the sitcom playing softly on the TV and from the corner of his eye he can see Musashi look up from his exam prep; something about flying buttresses?

“What are your plans for…” Hiruma consults his mental schedule “Monday night?” At Musashi’s shrug he continues. “Keep the day open, I’m making a reservation for that Chinese fusion place down by the library.”

Musashi whistles out a breath. “Fancy, what’s the occasion?”

“Midterms will be over by then and it’s after the last project deadlines. Best to do something fun right after exams to get your mind off the pending grades.” If Hiruma had any less trust in his own poker face, he might shrug. As is, the conversation is casual and any more signifiers of this super casual attitude might read as him protesting too much.

Musashi nods, makes a face and re-opens his buttress book. “Have to get through the exams themselves first though. Seven pm sound good?” The time is fine, so they drop back to silent study. An email pops into Hiruma’s inbox and he cracks his knuckles. Time to school some idiots.

Mamori’s end of things should be even easier. They have a standing arrangement to get takeout together after any exams to shoot the shit and rant about teachers or projects or partners. They might have gotten drunk, but neither of them enjoys drinking. So they get good food, good company and talk till the morning comes.

Except. Practice is cancelled for the week. Hiruma can’t seek her out, can’t call her. Either method of contact would clue the Manager in that something’s up, particularly when Hiruma’ll suggest going out rather than getting takeout.

Hiruma spends a day scheming a contrivance to ‘accidentally cross paths’ with her, but in the end they run into each-other by actual coincidence at the library.

The seats near her are occupied, so he can’t just sit next to her. Instead, Hiruma taps her on the shoulder. Anezaki almost teleports out of her skin. It’s funny enough that it’s worth the glare she gives him -hell, even that’s funny.

They move to an alcove to chat, no need to piss off the other people trying to study.

“For the after-exam dinner, let’s do that Tiger place down the street” Hiruma says.

Mamori frowns “I didn’t know they did takeout.”

“They don’t. Which is why you should wear something nicer than sweatpants.”

“Hey! I’ll have you know that sweats-and-a-t-shirt is a time-tested de-stressing tradition!”

“Fine, then. No skin off _my_ back if you’re underdressed.” This gets her fuming, just as he knew it would. “Monday, 1900 hours. Don’t be late.” Hiruma says as he walks off.

It’s funny, he thinks to himself, that neither Musashi nor Mamori noticed that Hiruma never said _he’d_ be there.

These days, just the appearance of his Little Black Book is enough to get him most basic requests, no actual blackmail required. It didn’t take much pushing to get himself a seat on the balcony and his friends a table directly below. Between the balcony, the dimness of the place and the hat Hiruma brought to hide his hair, the MusaMamo pair are unlikely to spot him.

The restaurant’s already starting to fill up when Hiruma walks in at a quarter to seven. It’s noisier inside than he expected, more crowded too. He’s glad he went to the trouble of making reservations for specific spots.

Not 20 minutes later he watches Musashi hold the door open for Mamori. They’re both dressed less casually than usual. Musashi’s in his Formal Meeting button-up and he’s seen the Manager in a non-uniform skirt _maybe_ twice before? One of the servers escorts them to their table. Hiruma watches Mamori question the server. Gears are obviously turning in both their heads and they both independently seem to come to the same conclusion.

This, roughly, is when Hiruma realizes that the din of the other restaurant patrons is too loud for him to eavesdrop on their conversation below.

But even if he can’t make out what they’re saying, Hiruma can hear his friends’ tones and voices. He settles further into his seat, places his order and just watches them.

Hiruma takes his sweet time getting home, after. He wants to give them the opportunity to finish the date whatever way they like without risking him walking in on them. Hiruma resolutely Does Not Think about what they could be doing for him to walk in on, no siree. He’s very good at not thinking about things that make him feel weird. Not that thinking about Musashi and the Manager making out on their couch makes him feel weird. But he’s just. Not thinking about it. Common courtesy.

By the time he’s spent half an hour wandering around town, he’s well and truly chilled. Hiruma decides that courtesy only extends so far and heads home.

There’s no sock or tie on the handle of their apartment’s front door -but then, Musashi hadn’t been wearing a tie in the first place.

Hiruma unlocks the door as loudly as possible. The noise from the TV is unexpected. Musashi’s watching some late-night nature documentary in the living room. He looks up when Hiruma walks in.

“Well look what the cat dragged in! Where’ve you been all night?” Musashi asks. Hiruma just shrugs and hangs his coat on the peg.

“Out. You have a good dinner?”

Musashi laughs. “Yea, the food was good. I met Anezaki at the place and had dinner with her. Would’ve been better with you too.” There’s a kind of softness Hiruma can’t even begin to identify, so he doesn’t try.

“Hm. So worth going again?” Hiruma asks.

“Yea, like I said. Good food, good atmosphere. And did you know they change the menu every few weeks? We could go after finals.”

Hiruma gives him a look. “You know what I’m talking about.”

Musashi frowns. “What, getting stood up by you? No, that was less fun. Not too keen on doing _that_ again.” Hiruma raises his hands, walking on into his own room.

“Fine, fine. Keep your secrets.” He calls back. Hiruma’s back is turned so doesn’t see the puzzled look Musashi sends after him.


End file.
